Frances Mary Bladel (3 October 1933 – 5 December 2023) was an Australian politician. She was a member of the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Tasmanian Legislative Council, Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House, Hobart, Parliament Hou ...

from 1986 to 2002, representing the seat of

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

for the Labor Party.

Early life and teaching career

Born in

Hobart, Tasmania Hobart ( ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent (Tasmania), River Derwent, it is the southernmo ...

, Bladel was raised in Moonah during the last years of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. Her first job at the age of 15 was as a photographic assistant to a Russian portrait photographer. In 1954, she married young German immigrant Erwin Bladel, and they had a son, however, Erwin died when their child was three years old, leaving her as a widow and single mother. Bladel worked as a cleaner and barmaid to support them, then gained mature-age entry to the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours and a Teacher Training Certificate. She commenced a career as a teacher, working at Rose Bay High School (Tasmania) and as a senior English teacher at Bridgewater High School. Inspired by the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

to get involved in politics, Bladel joined the Australian Labor Party, and in 1978, co-authored a study which surveyed the electoral consequences of the limited number of female Labor MPs in Australian parliaments.

Political career

In 1986, Bladel was elected to the

as a

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

member for

. In July 1989, she became a minister in the newly elected Labor government of Michael Field, as Minister Assisting the Premier on the Status of Women and Minister for Administrative Services. On 13 November 1989, Consumer Affairs was added to the Administrative Services portfolio, and on 8 February 1991 she was also made Minister for Construction. In 1992, the Field Labor government was defeated by the Liberal Party. Bladel remained a member of the House of Assembly, and returned to the ministry when Labor regained office in 1998 as Secretary to Cabinet. From May 2000, she served as acting Minister of State Assisting the Premier, and from October 2001 to January 2002 was acting Minister for Education. In 2002, she resigned her seat in the House of Assembly to contest the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

seat of Huon, where she was defeated. Her vacancy was filled by Neville Oliver in a countback, and Bladel retired from politics.

Death

Fran Bladel died on 5 December 2023, at the age of 90.

Recognition

In 2006 Bladel was inducted to the

Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women The State Government of Tasmania in Australia established the Tasmanian Honour Roll of Women in 2005 to recognise Tasmanian women who have been distinguished in their contributions to the State. In 2021 Martine Delaney became the first openly tran ...

for service to Government, Education and the Community.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bladel, Fran 1933 births 2023 deaths Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Australian schoolteachers University of Tasmania alumni Politicians from Hobart Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Tasmania 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Women members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly